Saturday, July 25, 2009

EEEEEEEEWWW!!! Doc is preparing to pull the tube out of Walt's chest cavity. Not sure which was worse--removing the tape from all that chest hair or pulling out the tube. The tube was in his chest about 10 inches and it was about 1/2 inch in diameter. Well, it saved his life. Doc commented on how much fluid was removed through the pump and the pressure it took to do that. He theorizes there were probably multiple punctures in his lung. . . . Now, for the new bandage. He already looks much relieved, don't you think?! He's been quite sure that the chest tube was the most painful part of this whole thing. Doc wanted to be sure he got it well taped--lots of tape! But then, it's vital that the hole be completely covered and closed. Here's the tube that was in his chest. Ready to go home. Now, that's a real sling--it works great. The American Legion Post in Dillon loans out hospital equipment, so they brought out a bed for Walt to use during this recovery time. I can't imagine how on earth with his injuries that he would be able to get into and out of a normal bed, so this is going to be really helpful. We've put it downstairs in the family room, so he has a tv, bathroom, big wide windows to outside, etc. So, we both will be living down here for awhile, but it's so comfy that we don't mind.

He is insisting that I go to my dr. appt. in Billings on Monday, so I will leave here about noon tomorrow to head down there. I'm just praying he will be ok alone while I'm gone. Probably, as long as he doesn't try to do something foolish. . . .

Thanks for your caring and your prayers. This is all looking pretty good at this point. We're headed in the right direction, at least.